IL Indoor Roundtable: How do Wings and Knighthawks

Another blockbuster trade in the NLL. The Dawson Boys head to the defending champ Knighthawks while Paul Rabil and Jordan Hall headline the group going to Philly. Gotta say I think Rochester got better in this deal while Philadelphia is a weaker overall team now than they were yesterday. To break down the headliners: Rabil is an average NLLer and Dawson is one of the best forwards in the league and  aside from Josh Sanderson and maybe now Garrett Billings  the best passer. Throw in CP coming back this season and the Knighthawks have really bulked up for a run at back-to-backs.

STAMP: I'm inclined to agree that it looks like Rochester got the best of the deal. A few points, however. How is Rochester going to incorporate Dawson with Keogh, Powell, Hill, Point and Accursi? That's a lot of righties. Perhaps we'll see some more movement, since all of those guys are strong NLL players. Maybe Kedoh Hill plays out the back door, but the Knighthawks aren't really a transition team, so that doesn't seem like it would be putting him in the best position to contribute. As for Philly, I think they are getting four players who will be able to help them, I'm just not sure how much. To me the biggest component of the trade for them is Jordan Hall. I assume he will play offence for the Wings and I think he's a great addition to their left side, which has been a weak point for some time now.

JENNER: One would think that this is a landslide for the Hawks--in essence, they traded away Jarrett Davis and got Dan and Paul Dawson plus a first round pick in 2016! That's a STEAL! Yes, the Hawks are loaded with right handed forwards but obviously your top three are Dawson, Keough and Powell--not sure you can sub anyone else in there as you want to keep them on the floor as often as possible. We seem teams going with a youth movement all over the league, however this could be a case where the veterans get to keep their jobs. Possibly Accurssi gets the axe, Joel McReady might be on the bubble too. But the defending champs just got even scarier. The devil's advocate in me also notes that the last time Powell and Dawson were on the same NLL roster, the Blazers weren't as potent as we all thought they would be. As for the Wings--you have to feel bad for this franchise. Once the storied Silver and Black, now they have become the watering hole for any and all Americans that want to be on the East coast. Hall will give them instant offense and along side Kevin Ross, they have solid 1-2 punch. With Rabil joining, they also can now go ahead and sign Kyle Hartzell who had been sitting out. So while it looks like a fleecing, you never know what motivation can do to a player.

PILSON: That's a good point Teddy and one I was thinking about, too. Along with Sanderson, DDD and CP were supposed to make the Blazers a juggernaut. Didn't happen. And look no further than the L.A. Lakers for what messing with chemistry can do. Sure they've faced some injury woes, but the original Lake Show added some well-known vets in Howard and Nash and are worse this year. So, I wonder, will adding some veteran stars perhaps hurt the K-Hawks? Will it mess with their chemistry?

STAMP: You can't say it was Davis for the Dawsons and a first in '16. As you and I both said, Teddy, Hall is a huge piece of this trade for Philadelphia. But a lot of people like Joel White, too, and he has a chance to turn into a pretty decent box player. And Robbie Campbell could be the hidden gem for the Wings. I haven't had a chance to see much of him but several knowledgeable lacrosse folks have told me that he's an absolute stud-in-the-making on the defensive end. The issue for most of these guys was geography and that will now work out better for everyone. But unless Rabil can at least approximate his field success on the floor, this is clearly a win for Rochester...as long as they can manage those chemistry issues.

JENNER: I actually really like Robbie Campbell--was a huge fan of his when he was here with the Coquitlam Jrs. and yes, I may have short cited the fact that they had to give up all those other pieces to get the Dawsons. I guess we'll just have to wait and see--as much as many forum experts have a hate on for Rabil, he is one hell of a lacrosse player and can really add to the Wings. If he can get back to the Rabil we saw in 2010 when the Stealth won the title, he will be SCARY alongside Brodie. A lot of people aren't happy with the direction the Wings are going and I can understand their frustration over the past few years. Chemistry is a huge issue but now the Wings have Rabil, Hartzell, White, Seibald, Mundorf, Crotty, Danowski, Schiller, McGlone, Hardy, Smith, Westervelt and many others that really could comprise the US national team....so let's not cut them short so quickly.

PILSON: Still not sure about chemistry, but one thing I can tell you for sure is this: If I'm a left-handed shot named Powless or Jamieson, I just won the lacrosse lottery with Dawson on the other side of the floor to feed me the ball this year. Both guys should benefit greatly from his addition  and CPs, as well, for that matter.